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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23779351">Familiar (Why is This so Familiar?)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/usachanbeccer/pseuds/usachanbeccer'>usachanbeccer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, F/F, F/M, High School AU, Reincarnation AU, Slow Burn, just take the journey with me, team jnr just loves their cute boy oscar, this is kinda like sailor moon but no super powers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:54:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,640</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23779351</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/usachanbeccer/pseuds/usachanbeccer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Oscar Pine is a simple farm kid, well except for the strange dreams plaguing him every night. But he can handle it, it's fine, that is until he moves to start a new school year at Beacon Academy, one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country. There, he meets new friends, new foes, and in the case of Ruby Rose, someone special? Why does he keep seeing these people in his dreams? And why are they so familiar?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Oscar Pine/Ruby Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>83</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. This is Not Sailor Moon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Honestly, what is impulse control? I have two other fics AND a webcomic to write instead of this. But I've been beckoned by the total LACK of Rosegarden, so here we are.<br/>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Snow colored ash fell from the sky, settling lazily on the dark ground at Oscar’s feet, the scene eerily quiet. He looked to his side and saw a tired smile on his friend’s face, her weapon slung over her shoulder as she recentered herself. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Are- are you sure you want to do this? You don’t have to R-”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’ll be fine, Oscar, just promise me something?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar nodded, “anything.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Next time, let’s hang out more, ‘kay?” And with that she leapt into the fray, swinging her weapon behind her as she yelled out a battle cry.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar woke with a start, gasping for breath as he searched the room with frantic eyes. It took him a few moments to return to the real world, blinking away the last hazy images of the dream he’d just had. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“OSCAR! You’re going to be late! And the train will <em>not</em> wait for you!” Oscar sighed as his aunt called up to him, reminding him that he had to start a new school today.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar dragged himself out of bed and got ready for the day. He tugged on a pair of clean pants and a nice shirt before turning to the mirror, running his fingers through his hair to try and work out the kinks caused by sleep. It didn’t do much to fix his ever present bedhead, but at least it was an attempt, afterall, orientation day was all about first impressions and he had to make at least a small effort.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar made his way downstairs, greeting his aunt as he entered the kitchen, “you’re sure you don’t wanna homeschool me? It’s really not that hard.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Homeschooling doesn’t pay well,” she replied as she handed the boy a brown sack and an apple for breakfast. She ushered him towards the entryway where his two suitcases had sat for the past week, a quiet reminder to the boy that he wasn’t living with his aunt this year. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It pays by giving you more time with me,” Oscar smiled cheekily as he slipped the lunch sack in his bag, taking a big bite out of his apple.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re lucky I’m not making you walk to the train.” His aunt playfully shooed him towards the door, Oscar laughing as he scurried into the hall and out the door, snagging one of his bags on his way out. His aunt laughed as she picked up the second and followed him to her car. Oscar threw the first bag in the trunk before taking the second from his aunt and throwing it on top of the first. He didn’t have much other than clothes in the suitcases so he wasn’t too worried about the rough handling he was giving them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The drive to the train station was a bit further than Oscar remembered, the last time he made the drive with his aunt was several years ago when his grandparents were still well enough to travel for the holidays. He occupied himself by flipping through his phone, making sure all his tickets and itineraries were still saved and easy to access. Oscar’s aunt would spare some glances over to him every so often on the drive, giving him small smiles and looks of encouragement. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, after what seemed altogether too long and not long enough, the duo made their way into the train station, Oscar carrying both suitcases over to the train car that was for cargo, handing them off to the employee with a appreciative smile before turning to his aunt and shrugging, “well, I guess this is it?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh Oscar, I’m so proud of you.” His aunt wrapped him in a tight hug, kissing the top of his head. Oscar melted into the hug, reality hitting him like a brick. He had never left the small town since he arrived here all those years ago. He’s never been somewhere without his family and now he was going to live at least four months all on his own, well sort of, there would be other students but Oscar was never good at talking to other people, he wasn’t sure if this was the best decision all of a sudden, but he had already committed to it so there was no turning back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be fine, Aunt Em, promise me you’ll write?” He took a step out of the hug to give his aunt a reassuring smile, which she laughed at.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You are an old soul, Oscar!” She ruffled his hair, “try to make friends, okay?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar laughed, trying to fix the hair she messed up, “of course, now I’ve got to get going, drive safe okay?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aunt Em gave him one last hug before watching Oscar climb onto the passenger car to find his seat, finally on his way to his new school. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar found an open seat at a table, which would come in handy to help keep him entertained on the long journey to the capital, where his new school and new home waited for him. Oscar let himself sink into his seat and he pulled out a sketchbook, he needed to get his latest dream down on paper before he forgot. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After several hours of being stuck in his seat, save for bathroom trips, the train had finally pulled into the Vale station, he was almost at school. Oscar packed away his sketchbook and pencil, slinging his bag over his shoulder and exiting the train, he still had to pick up his suitcases before finding his ride to the school. His orientation packet said that an upperclassman would be at the station to escort him to campus, but he wasn’t sure how he would recognize them. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar barely made it off the train car before he heard his name being shouted, he looked in the direction and saw a girl wildly waving her arms around, bouncing up and down. He smiled a little uncertainty, giving a small nod in her direction before going to the back to grab his bags. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once he had his bags, he walked over to the girl, who was still bouncing and waving her arms in the air. She was joined by two other teens her age, one shooting him apologetic looks behind the girl while the other was trying to get her to calm down. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nora, you’re going to scare him if you keep doing that.”  The boy with long black hair and a single pink streak sighed, placing a calm hand on her shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But it’s so exciting! And he’s so small! And so CUTE!” The girl squealed, lunging forward and sweeping Oscar up into a surprisingly strong hug, lifting him off the ground and twirling him around. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nora, put him down!” The other boy hollered, trying to stop Nora from spinning around the train station, “You’re gonna make him sick!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, but he’s just so cute! I can’t help it!” The girl, Nora, set him back on the ground, Oscar stumbled a bit, trying to find his balance after all the spinning. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry about her, we’ve been here all day, and she’s a bit... energetic.” The blond apologized, placing a hand on Oscar’s shoulder to steady him, “I’m Jaune, by the way. That’s Nora, and that is Ren.” He pointed each on out in turn, and Oscar nodded, smiling politely at them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Oscar, though, I uh, I guess you knew that already. Sorry you had to wait here all day for my train, Vale’s a long way from the country” He laughed hesitantly, grabbing the suitcases he had dropped when Nora had tackled him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, here, let me get that for you,” Jaune grabbed one of the bags from his hands. “And don’t even worry about the wait, it’s not your fault we were here all day.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nora was too excited to wait at the school,” Ren explained, grabbing the second bag from Oscar before turning to leave. The rest of the group followed Ren, Jaune close behind with Oscar at his heels and Nora skipping at the back of the group. Oscar could feel his nerves rising again, he was only expecting one person to show up at the station, not a whole group and he wasn’t prepared to deal with all of these new names and faces at once.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So! How was the trip? Was it long? Boring? Did you eat yet? We haven’t had dinner yet, we wanted to show you around! What kind of food do you like?” Nora rambled, falling into step with Oscar, giving him an encouraging smile. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh uh, the trip wasn’t terrible, I guess. I didn’t even realize it was time for dinner, actually.” Oscar was trying not to stay tense as Nora peppered him with questions, doing his best to answer before Jaune interrupted them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, we’re here! Let’s get your stuff to the room then we can give you a tour, or get dinner?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar looked away from Nora to get a look at the campus, it was huge. A large green lawn with a big pond in the middle of everything, trees scattered about with students milling about. Past all that was the school building itself, a large building stretching as high as it was wide, reminding Oscar more of a castle than of a boarding school. To either side were two smaller buildings, which Oscar assumed were the dorms. They were more modern looking than the castle-like building in the middle, only three stories high and stretching further back than he could see from where he stood. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The group started to make their way towards the dorm building on the left, Jaune fishing in his pocket for his keys. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once inside the building, the group took the stairs up to the second floor and turning to the fourth door on the right. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Here we are! Home sweet home!” Nora proudly stated as Jaune unlocked the door and let them all inside. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh did you need something from your room?” Oscar asked, waiting in the hallway trying not to intrude on their privacy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They didn’t tell you?” Jaune asked, setting Oscar’s bag down next to a half empty bunk. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me what?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re rooming with us, silly! All the freshman dorms were full, but lucky you, we had more than enough room for your cute self!” Nora grabbed his arm and tugged him into the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar stared at the group in confusion, he couldn’t stay in a room of upperclassmen, could he? Especially if one of those in the room was a girl? There had to be some sort of rule against a first year staying with not first years. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“O-oh, no, no one told me,” Oscar finally stuttered, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, wondering what to do next.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’ll take some adjustments for all of us to get used to this new arrangement. That’s why we all wanted to have dinner, to get to know you,” Ren explained, placing Oscar’s second bag on the bottom bunk. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But it’s totally up to you! You can just chill here and get settled if you want to do that instead,” Jaune reassured. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar shook his head “no, I’m hungry, I just need a second to, to settle down.” He pointed to the bed with his bags, “is this my bed or...”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep! You’re bunking with me, hope you don’t mind, I had top bunk last year.” Jaune pointed to the bed above his own, already settled with dark blue sheets and stuffed rabbit tucked into the corner, just in sight. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar nodded, “Alright, well I’m gonna unpack. You don’t have to stay here if you have something else to do?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The group took his uncertainty as a sign of him wanting to be left alone and nodded, Jaune speaking for the group, “yeah some other people wanted to get dinner with us in town, we’re gonna let them know we’re back.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll be back soon!” Nora laughed as she ushered the other two teens out the door, leaving Oscar to his own devices.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar sighed, he could do this, sure some unexpected changes were thrown at him, but knew there was a slight possibility of being in a co-ed dorm, and of not being with people his age. He did skip a few grades to attend Beacon Academy in the first place. He could do this, he just needed to recenter then he’d be alright.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With new determination, Oscar set to work on unpacking, setting plain sheets on his new bed and placing his clothes in the only empty dresser left. The work calming his mind and setting him at ease, he could make this room his home in four months’ time. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After an hour of leaving Oscar to unpack, the group came back, dragging him away to what Nora called “mandatory get-to-know-you dinner”. Jaune had explained their friends had gotten impatient and went to dinner without them. Which was just fine with Oscar, he did better with fewer people. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The group had made their way into town, the dining hall hadn’t been open for the semester yet so everyone who arrived early had been left to their own devices for meals. Nora had picked a small noodle shop, claiming that it was the best place to eat in town and quickly snagged a table for the group. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what classes do you have?” Nora asked, pointing at the packet that Oscar had insisted on bringing, it had a map of the town and he wanted to mark places on it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh uh, I just have the same generals like everyone else,” Oscar shrugged, handing her the packet and letting her flip through the pages. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“‘Like everyone else’? You have English and History with us! Oscar, you didn’t tell us you were a genius!” Nora beamed, showing the schedule to Ren who also nodded in agreement. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The night carried on like that, Nora steering the conversation to hobbies, classwork and eventually explaining where all his classes were. After their dinner, Oscar felt more comfortable with his new roommates, and his new school. He could do this. He could make friends and survive Beacon Academy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar was fighting for his breath, training had been rough, again. He was so tired he could barely stay on his feet, but that didn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of his mouth. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Did you see that? That was insane!” He laughed, looking up at his team for confirmation. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“That was amazing, Oscar! I didn’t even see you coming!” Nora laughed, tackling him in a bone crushing hug. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You really have improved,” Ren nodded, smiling down at the boy. Jaune stood behind him, a big grin plastered on his face as he gave the younger boy two thumbs up. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Let’s go celebrate!” Nora cheered, dragged the three boys out of the training hall. Oscar couldn’t help the laughter spilling out of his mouth, he finally felt at home with the huntsmen. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But the laughter didn’t last long, there was a gnawing in the back of Oscar’s mind. Why did this feel so familiar? </span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Ren Takes Home Ec</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's the first day of classes for Oscar and the rest of the gang!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Don't get used to this frequent updates, I'm just s o b o r e d in quarantine. I'll have a schedule for updates if this somehow takes longer to write... OH! Also, this is a call-out to @alapest: you know what you did.<br/>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next morning, Oscar was woken by a loud crash, which caused him to nearly fall out of the bed from shock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened?!” He looked around wildly, scanning the room as if the answer would jump out at him. As he looked, he saw Nora and Ren squabbling over something, and Jaune was tying his shoes, nothing that would have caused the loud crash that had startled him awake. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh guys? Did you hear that crash?” Oscar asked, untangling himself from his blankets and stumbling to his feet. Nora and Ren looked at him for a moment before continuing their argument. Jaune nodded and shrugged, tugging on a blazer over a knitted blue sweater. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was just the room across the hall, Yang must finally be up.” Jaune explained, “you’ll meet them soon, we usually all eat breakfast together.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar nodded, he was going to meet more people. Hooray. With a small sigh, he gathered his own uniform from the dresser and headed to the bathroom to change, he wasn’t quite sure if he should change in the room with Nora just standing there. He’ll adjust, he has to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He made the bathroom trip quick, his stomach protesting louder than his tired brain. After quickly running his hands through his hair and checking that he tied his tie somewhat correctly, he left the bathroom to go back to his room, colliding with someone almost immediately. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“O-oh my gosh I am so sorry, I didn’t see you there and I just- so sorry.” Oscar fumbled as he scrambled to his feet, offering a hand to the other student. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it! I’m so clumsy anyway!” The girl laughed. She had short black hair with faded red tips that was stuck in a messy bedhead, and instead of a uniform, she was clad in what seemed to be pajamas, complete with corgi slippers. She took the offered hand and pulled herself up to her feet, shooting him a polite grin, “besides, I did the exact same thing my first year too!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar heaved a sigh of relief, at least she wasn’t angry with him, “really?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah! Although, I’m much nicer than Weiss!” She laughed, giving him a once over with her stunning silver eyes. They were like nothing Oscar had seen before, like polished silver or the moon on a cloudy night, fighting to shine through the clouds. Her eyes made Oscar forget how to speak for a moment, they seemed so familiar, but he couldn’t figure out why.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, you have silver eyes.” He remarked, dropping his hand to the side. The girl just laughed at that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, pretty neat right? I’m Ruby by the way, what’s your name?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Right, I’m Oscar.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! You’re the new kid that moved in with Jaune and beat my record!” She laughed, giving him a playful nudge with her fist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your record?” Oscar hadn’t even been here for a full day, there was no way he broke any kind of record, unless that record was being as awkward as possible. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The record of being the youngest first year at Beacon! It was me last year, but now I’m not the youngest!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar didn’t know what to say, was it a compliment or was she angry that he took her title, and so soon after she had earned it. Luckily, Oscar didn’t have to respond to that as they were interrupted by a girl with striking white hair leaning out of the room across from Oscar’s to yell at Ruby.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ruby, if you don’t hurry up, we WILL leave you behind this morning!” The girl fixed Oscar with a glare, “stop being a distraction to her.” Ruby laughed, giving her a thumbs up before turning back to Oscar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s my cue, I’ll see you later, okay?” And she sprinted the short distance to her room. Leaving Oscar with his head spinning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar’s own roommates were ready to leave when he got back to the room, barely giving him enough time to toss his dirty clothes on his bed before practically dragging him to the crowded dining hall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, so the dining hall is super great, we’ve got all the best food here!” Nora said as she pulled Oscar into a buffet line, shoving a plate into his hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And she was right, the food looked mouth-wateringly good. Piles of pancakes and waffles under warmers, warming plates of eggs and sausages spilling over as students grabbed their fill. Oscar could see other buffet stations with cereals and milks, and others with coffees and teas. It seemed like this school was catering to any breakfast preferences as he followed Nora along, eyes widening at the outrageous amount of pancakes piled on her plate, the pile swaying with each step she took. Oscar, on the other hand, opted for just two pancakes and a generous spoonful of eggs, he didn’t want to overdo it on the first day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the duo had gotten their drinks, milk for the both, they scanned the room for Jaune and Ren until Nora eventually spotted them seated at a table, already eating bowls of cereal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys! You were supposed to wait for us!” Nora complained as she led Oscar to their roommates, taking her spot next to Ren. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was hungry, besides, the girls aren’t even here yet, you can always wait for them," Jaune laughed around a mouthful of Pumpkin Pete’s as Nora rolled her eyes at him and reaching for the syrup. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar laughed lightly as Ren caught his eye to shoot an exasperated look at the ungodly amount of syrup Nora was pouring on her pancakes, pacing a nearly empty bottle to Oscar so he could pour it on his own plate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon after, they were joined by four more girls: a broad shouldered blonde with her arm slung around a slimmer girl with short black hair, the white haired girl from the hall, and Ruby, who was in her uniform this time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry we’re late!” Ruby slid into the open seat next to Oscar, a pile of waffles and strawberries on her plate and what looked like a coffee mug filled with milk sliding next to his own plate. The rest of the group found their spots at the table, giving Oscar a curious look as they did.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guys! You haven’t met cute boy Oscar!” Nora gestured to the boy across from Ren, looking too excited and too awake for a Monday morning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I met him in the hall! Hi Oscar!” Ruby said, shooting a glance at Oscar, “and Weiss yelled at him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did not! I just told him not to distract you, Yang was breaking stuff.” The white haired girl, Weiss, crossed her arms in a huff and glared at Ruby, who stuck her tongue out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s Weiss, she’s bitter in the morning,” Ruby laughed, dodging a napkin that was thrown her way before continuing the introductions. “And that’s Yang, she’s my older sister, and that’s Blake.” Ruby pointed to each girl in turn, who gave a wave when their name was said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s nice to meet you all, Jaune and Nora have told me a lot about you guys.” Oscar gave a small wave to the girls, trying to commit their faces and names to memory. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the introductions were made, the group started making idle conversation, swapping schedules and talking about their summers. Oscar just sat back and listened for a while before Ruby nudged him slightly, trying to get his attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s your schedule like?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, I have history two first, I think.” Oscar said, shrugging.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! I’ve got that too! Professor Oobleck, right?” Yang said, fixing Oscar with an expectant gaze. He gave a small nod, she was a bit too intimidating for him. “Great! I’ll show you where that is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar breathed a sigh of relief, causing Ruby to snicker.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s a bit much when you first meet her. But she’s the best,” Ruby reassured, standing from the table and grabbing her plate, “well, I’ve got home ec first, wish me luck!” She left the group, leaving Oscar to watch her leave, feeling the bit of ease he had found following her out the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should get going too, class is gonna start soon.” Blake pointed out, also standing from the table and taking Weiss and Ren with her. Nora followed shortly after, leaving Yang and Jaune waiting with Oscar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Common, farm boy, we should get there early so we can sit in the back.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar followed closely behind her, dumping his empty dishes in the same spot she did, “why is that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because Oobleck likes to call on people, and if you’re as shy as you seem, I don’t think you’d like to randomly be called on.” Oscar nodded sheepishly, a blush rising to his cheeks at being called out like that, and by someone he had just met. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The duo made their way to class, being able to snag seats in the second row from the back, Yang inviting him to sit next to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Classes were easy, everyone was just doing syllabus and expectation lectures for the first day of lessons. Oscar was pleasantly surprised at being able to breeze through history, math and French (which he had with Jaune) so quickly, it seemed like mere moments had passed before making his way back to the dining hall with Jaune. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two made conversation about the small French assignment that they were given as they grabbed plates and simple sandwiches before making their way to the same table they ate at that morning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, it’s the first day! And it’s French</span>
  <em>
    <span> one, </span>
  </em>
  <span>how am I supposed to know how to introduce myself and count to twenty by Wednesday?” Jaune sighed, sinking into his seat as Oscar laughed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, she did give us work books, so I’d assume the answers are in there?” Jaune gave him a pointed stare before groaning again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh oh, Jaune’s already melting and it isn’t even fourth period. Who broke him?” Blake joked, taking the seat next to Oscar. Ren took the seat next to Jaune and threw him a pitiful look before tucking into his sandwich. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Madam Goodwitch, the French teacher. She gave Jaune homework on the first day,” Oscar said, stifling a laugh as Jaune groaned once more. Blake rolled her eyes and threw a tomato at the boy, trying halfheartedly to cheer him up. Oscar grabbed his own sandwich and started to eat, that tense feeling of not knowing how to talk to someone creeping back up on him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How have your classes been so far?” Blake asked suddenly, not bothering to look at Oscar as she did. Oscar nearly choked on his sandwich, not prepared for her to start any conversations with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! They’ve been good, though a lot bigger than I’m used to, and learning all these names is tougher than I thought it would be.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were homeschooled before this, right?” Blake said, finally glancing over at him as he nodded. “I used to be homeschooled too, don’t worry, you’ll get used to the size a lot quicker than you think.” She gave him a small smile before turning her attention to the two girls sitting down next to Blake and Ren. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Yang, Nora, how bad is physics class?” And just like that, Oscar wasn’t the center of attention again. He nodded along to the girls’ description of physics, vaguely aware of the missing members of the group.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he wasn’t able to ask before a bell rang and the group stood to get rid of their plates and head to the next class.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, what’s your next class?” Blake asked, falling in step with Oscar once they had left the dining hall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“English two, you?” Oscar looked up at the taller girl, why was she suddenly interested in him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me too, I’ll sit with you, if that’s okay.” She led him to the English class, picking a table off to the side of the room, close enough to see the board but not too close to be called on without warning. Oscar was glad that she seemed to catch onto his hesitance as she pulled out the chair next to her and gave a small nod. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>English went by smoothly, and Oscar bid Blake a farewell before making his way to biology, finding a lab station towards the back that was unoccupied. He quickly set his stuff down and took a seat on one of the stools, fishing out a folder for the class in case this professor handed out more papers like his other classes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right before the bell rang, a large amount of students trickled in, and among them was Ruby. She seemed to spot him before he could say anything and made her way over to his half empty station.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t know you had biology! This is great! I hate trying to find partners for these classes.” Ruby set her bag on the table, swinging her feet around wildly because they didn’t reach the floor with the elevated stool. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me too, we’ve done icebreakers in my math and it sucked!” Oscar said, grinning over at Ruby who grinned back. They weren’t able to converse much after that as the professor came in and started lecturing them on lab safety and expectations. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After class, Ruby and Oscar left together, trying to hurry to their next class.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, where are you headed?” Ruby asked, hiking her backpack higher on her shoulders.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar took a look at his schedule, “self defense? But I have no idea where that is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ruby bounced excitedly, grabbing his arm and shaking it, “ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!!!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?!” Oscar laughed, pulling his arm away from her death grip. Why were all these girls so strong? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have the same class! Common, let’s go!” Ruby grabbed his arm again and tugged him behind her, sprinting down the hall to the gym. They bypassed the locker rooms and rushed into the gym which had other students milling about, waiting for their professor and the bell to start the class. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ruby! Oscar!” The duo looked over to see Jaune and Nora waving at them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey guys! I didn’t know you had this class!” Ruby said, leading Oscar over to his roommates. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I guess I know who’s in our group!” Nora laughed, playfully punching Oscar and Ruby in the arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s not partners?” Oscar asked, setting his bag on the ground and rubbing his arm, Nora could definitely pack a punch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, Professor Port doesn’t like it when you can read your sparring partner, so he makes us get in groups to try and spice things up.” Jaune shrugged, turning his attention to the front where a stout man with a bushy mustache was starting to talk. He began explaining the exact same thing Jaune had just said, in more detail, taking up the full hour just to explain his methods and every technique they would be learning that semester. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After class, Nora and Ruby waved the boys off, racing out of the gym to the lawn. They wanted to go find the rest of their friends before dinner, Jaune explained, matching Oscar’s steady pace as they followed the girls. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar was the first back to the room after dinner, too tired to hang out and compare their days and just wanting to collapse into his bed and sleep for twenty years. He had never met this many new people in his life, and not to mention the whirlwind of trying to find all his classes and carry all of his books and notes around for the day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar shrugged off his blazer, fighting with the sleeves when they tried to turn inside out. He hung it on the corner of his dresser, kicking off his shoes in the process before setting down in his bed. He wanted to get a headstart on the little homework he was given, falling back into old study habits easily as he reclined into the mattress, a small smile on his face. People may have been confusing for him, but school work was easy for him, something familiar easing the stress on his mind as he read through one of his textbooks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar didn’t make it too far into the assignments before his eyes started to feel heavy, and soon he started to doze off.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The night was cold, blowing a soft mist across the eerily quiet field. The moon hung low in the sky, it’s scattered pieces helping to light up the night. Silhouetted against the bright light was a girl, her cape flapping gently with the wind, and a scythe resting comfortably on her shoulders. She stood tall on the crumbling wall as she seemed to challenge the moon. Oscar couldn’t tear his gaze from her silent figure.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar stood there, sides heaving as if he had ran to where he stood. Stopping only when he saw the girl that stood in front of him, barely more than a silhouette. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The girl turned then, looking right at Oscar, but he could feel himself slipping away before he saw who she was.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Heck yeah, cliffhanger. Find me on tumblr @indorkcold or leave me a comment! See you in the next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. I Wanted to Post This at a Specific Time But Oh Well</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's been a few months and Oscar is feeling more comfortable, he even has a best friend! He can't wait to see his aunt in a few weeks to tell her all about Beacon in person.</p>
<p>Heads up for platonic cuddling and also some actual show dialogue at the end!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I just want more of Ren and Oscar being buddies, just two chill boys chilling while their teammates are being wild. Also, there is actual show dialogue in this chapter, but I cut it down to what was important to MY plot. You've all seen the show, you know what actually happened, just take this journey with me.<br/>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Oscar sat in the lawn, enjoying the late fall warmth and drawing his latest dream in his sketchbook, they had gotten more frequent as midterms crept closer. He still hadn’t seen the face of the mysterious girl in the red hood, or heard her name. But his roommates made frequent appearances in the dreams, most of the time they were pleasant, but not this last one. This last time he had gotten in a fight with Jaune about something, but he couldn’t remember what. He sketched out the details of Jaune’s face, anger mixing with defeat and loss. He couldn’t remember the argument, but he could remember the emotions in Jaune’s face as he had shoved him up against the wall. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Oscar, what’re you working on?” Oscar quickly slammed the book shut as he looked up to see Ruby sitting down next to him, smoothing her skirt out as the wind ruffled her hair. Even out of uniform, Ruby preferred to wear skirts and dresses, claiming that they gave her more movement than pants. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s nothing! Are you ready to work on our project?” Oscar asked, swapping his sketchbook for his biology notes. Ruby nodded, pulling out her laptop to start a slideshow for their project. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two spent the rest of the afternoon working in the grass, barely noticing the sinking sun until Ruby’s phone started ringing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar raised his eyebrow, shooting Ruby a questioning look as she mouthed “Yang” and pointed at the phone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I didn’t... well I lost track of time! Oscar and I are- NO!” Ruby turned red at whatever Yang said and puffed out her cheeks. Oscar laughed a bit at that, her childish pout too funny to go unacknowledged.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, we’ll just grab something in town, it’s fine,” Ruby said, glaring at Oscar and his laugh before adding, “no, only </span>
  <em>
    <span>nice</span>
  </em>
  <span> sister’s get food from me.” And hung up the phone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What was that about?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm? Oh, Yang just was making sure we had dinner since the dining hall is closed now.” Ruby shrugged, pocketing her phone before starting to pack up her bag. “Common, it’s late and I’m starving, let’s go to McDonald’s.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar grabbed his bag and stood up, offering a hand to Ruby which she took gratefully, standing with a hop and tugging him towards the street. Oscar didn’t mind being pulled behind, it was the only way to keep up with Ruby most days, but a small blush crept onto his face from the shared contact with the bubbly girl. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two made the four block walk to McDonald’s in record time, Ruby complaining about the weekend always messing with her sense of time. She finally released his hand and stepped up to the counter, placing her order then turning to Oscar, “what are you getting?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uhhh, probably whatever you got?” Oscar shrugged, he’s only been to the fast food restaurant a handful of times since starting school, and never before that, so he just usually let Nora or Ruby order and shared with them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay! So I guess that’s 40 nuggets then! Oh and a strawberry shake and a chocolate shake!” Ruby handed over her card and thanked the cashier when they handed her a receipt. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s find somewhere to sit!” Ruby led him to a booth close to the counter so they could watch for their food. Oscar slid into the seat opposite of Ruby and reached for his wallet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How much do I owe you?” Oscar asked, reaching his hand out to grab the receipt from the table. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby snatched the paper from the table, clutching it to her chest as she whined. “No! I wanna pay today! You’ve helped me so much in biology, I wanna thank you with McNuggets!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Butts are for sitting! Friendship is paying for food!” Ruby stuck her tongue out, shoving the receipt in her bag when Oscar lunged for it. Oscar rolled his eyes, making the mental note to pay her back for the food when she wasn’t looking. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t take long for their food to be ready, Oscar already out of his seat before Ruby could say anything and heading to the counter to grab it. He brought it back and set it on the table, putting on a fake accent, “Ma chere Mademoiselle, it is with </span>
  <em>
    <span>deepest pride</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>greatest pleasure</span>
  </em>
  <span> that I proudly present: your McNuggets."</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby howled with laughter, mostly at his poor attempt at a French accent, “why do you have that </span>
  <em>
    <span>memorized</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar was laughing too hard to explain, sliding into the booth and holding his sides, Ruby’s laughter contagious. The two sat there laughing at his terrible joke for far too long before eventually calming down enough to start eating. Ruby snatched her strawberry milkshake and hummed happily as she took a sip. Oscar grabbed one of the boxes and began to eat his dinner.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t know you were a Beauty and the Beast fan.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m not really, but my cousin’s daughter just absolutely loves it, she makes us watch it every time they visit the farm.” Oscar said, grabbing the chocolate shake and dipping his nugget in experimentally. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t know you had a second cousin!” Ruby said, “how old is she?” </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s gonna be six the day after Harvest Dinner.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s so cute!!!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, she’s pretty cute, even if she only ever watches one movie.” Oscar smiled, he still missed his aunt and family while at Beacon, but his friends were helpful in forgetting about the heartache. Especially Ruby, who had quickly become his best friend at the school. She was always ready to swoop in and make him forget about his homesickness with a joke or a peptalk. Ruby really was something else, someone so familiar to Oscar he had no problem being himself around even though it had only been a few months since he came to Beacon Academy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar’s phone buzzed, confused, he picked it up, no one really texted him this late, besides Ruby. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the notification, telling him about a package he had received and was waiting to be picked up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess I got a package?” Oscar said, looking up at Ruby with a shrug, he wasn’t expecting anything from his aunt, she usually let him know when she was sending him mail. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, do you wanna go pick it up? I’m almost done.” Oscar nodded, thanking her as he began to shovel the rest of his nuggets in his mouth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby was done first, grabbing their empty boxes and tossing them in the trash before heading back to the table, laughing as she watched Oscar try and fight his obvious brain freeze from drinking his shake too fast. “You know you can take that to go, it’s in a cup.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar shot her a disgruntled look, which Ruby laughed at before she tugged on his arm and pushed him to the door. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They made the walk back to the school at a much slower pace, enjoying the cool evening breeze that blew past. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s so nice out! I love the fall!” Ruby beamed, holding her arms out as another breeze blew past them. Oscar copied her, laughing as the girl gave a twirl with the wind, her skirt flaring out as she did. Oscar couldn’t take his eyes off her, her pure joy in everything was contagious and he spun around as well, almost toppling over, unable to regain his balance. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Whoa!” He tried to call out, trying not to knock Ruby over but failing, crashing into the girl and bringing them to the ground. Oscar’s head was spinning, trying to figure out where he was, and he blushed when he realized where he landed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The chocolate shake thankfully was knocked from his grasp and tumbled away from them, avoiding getting either dirty, but Oscar had other things to worry about. He had landed on his back, looked up into Ruby’s silver eyes as she lay on top of him. He stared back, he felt like he could fall into her eyes and get lost forever, not that he would mind. Seeing the world through Ruby's eyes would be nice. He shook his head, remembering how they ended up in this position: she had managed to grab him when he ran into her, but that just pulled her down on top of the boy when they fell to the ground. Ruby’s hair was tickling his nose as she let out a small snort. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?!” But Ruby didn’t answer, instead she just laughed, giving him a small nod as she giggled. Oscar let out a small laugh too, he was really clumsy, why did he even try to spin around like that? Ruby was starting to be a bad influence on his judgement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby gained her composure first, standing up and offering her hand to him, “common, let’s get to your package.” Oscar took the offered hand and let her pull him to his feet, “but let’s not spin anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby and Oscar made their way to the student mail room, catching the student employee before he closed the window. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Cutting it close, Rose!” He muttered, and Ruby laughed sheepishly, giving him an apologetic smile as she shoved Oscar forward.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s the last name?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“P-pine! Oscar Pine!” The upperclassman rolled his eyes, leaving the window to go find his package. He came back a few minutes later with a large box, no doubt from his aunt. Oscar quickly thanked him as he grabbed the box, it was heavier than it looked, and hurrying away to the dorms with Ruby in tow. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two parted in the hall, both deciding to turn in for the night, only after Oscar promised to let her know what his aunt had sent him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar was thankful that someone had left the door unlocked as he nudged it open his it elbow, pushing it open with his foot the rest of the way.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inside, he found Ren and Nora sitting on the floor, physics books between them. Jaune was sitting in a desk chair reading a book for his English class.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello Oscar, how was dinner with Ruby?” Ren greeted, flipping between the pages of his notes, trying to find a specific note. Nora handed him her notes before turning to greet Oscar.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooo! What’s in the box?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t know, I didn’t even know Aunt Em was sending me this,” Oscar walked over to his desk to grab his scissors before taking a seat on his bed. He quickly cut the tape off and opened the box, surprised at the contents. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Whoa, that sure is a lot of stuff,” Nora commented, craning her neck to try and see inside the box. Oscar nodded as he pulled out several of his favorite books that he had forgotten at home, a small knitted orange cat he was planning on grabbing when he went home in two weeks, and a box of some apples she hadn’t sold at the market. He kept the box of chocolate chip cookies in the package, not wanting to risk Nora seeing them and begging for some. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh wow! She sent a lot of stuff!” Nora commented, making grabby hands for the apples before Ren nudged her to make her stop. Oscar laughed, pulling his phone out of his pocket to send a quick picture of the cookies to Ruby, he’d be willing to share his aunt’s cookies with her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I wonder why, I’m gonna be back at the farm in two weeks, and I can fit a lot more in a suitcase than a care package can.” Oscar moved the cookies over to see a note hidden at the bottom. “Oh, there’s a note!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s it say?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nora, I’ve gotta finish this and write a report by Monday! Shh!” Jaune scolded, playfully shoving her with his foot, squeaking in shock when Nora jumped up from the floor to tackle him while declaring war. Oscar laughed and rolled his eyes with Ren as he unfolded the note to read it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar,</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I wanted to surprise you with a care package of things I know you’ve been missing, especially my outstanding chocolate chip cookies, because I’ve got some bad news. Now don’t go getting all panicky when you read that, it’s nothing serious. Call me when this gets to you, I’d rather not tell you over a note. And make sure you share those apples with your friends, you’ll all need the brain food for your tests!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>-Em</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar read the note twice, three times, and a fourth just to make sure he wasn’t imagining things. He set the box down, grabbing his phone and quickly pulling up his aunt’s contact, it wasn’t too late and she did say when he got the package. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The phone rang once before his aunt picked up, “I was wondering when that package would show up. How are you?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well I’m worried now! What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Do I need to come home? I’m sure if I-” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar! Take a breath, I’m fine, the farm is fine!” His aunt scolded, waiting until she heard him sigh before continuing, “but, I do have bad news. Your pa isn’t feeling too well and Grandma needed me to come help her out in Haven for a few weeks, I’m actually here right now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar rubbed his hand over his face, this had happened before, but usually his cousin would go help, not his aunt.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What about Maggie? Why isn’t she there?” Oscar asked, “do you need me to meet you there?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jaune looked over to Oscar at that point, giving him a worried glance, Oscar just shook his head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No! Pa and Grandma both agree that you need to stay at school, and Maggie is too busy with her firm and Dottie to come out, but with the Harvest ending and those wonderful scouting children lending me a hand I was able to come out and help.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re the ‘Four H’ club, Em” Oscar sighed. “So what’s the bad news then? This happens at least once a year.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I know you were looking forward to coming home for the Harvest break, but there’s no way to get you to Haven and Pa isn’t in any state to travel to the farm. I’m so sorry Oscar.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar just sat there, his phone in his hands, staring at the floor. He didn’t know how to react, how could he? Of course he couldn’t come home, there would be no one at the farm with his whole family in Haven until his Pa got better. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s, I’m fine, I’ll be okay. How’s Pa doing?” Oscar eventually said, not daring to look up at his friends, their faces surely riddled with concern. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s, he sleeps most of the time. He still remembers Grandma, but he’s having a hard time. It’ll get better, but him catching some sort of flu on top of his memory is hard on your grandma. Did you want to talk to her?” She asked gently, he could hear her shuffling around the house, trying to find his grandma.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“N-no, I’ve got a lot of homework. I’ll call them tomorrow, if Pa is feeling up to it.” Oscar finally looked up, feeling his bed shift with added weight. Ren and Nora had crawled onto the bed, Jaune following close behind to sit with him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...Of course, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Thank you for understanding, I’ll make it up to you, honey.” She said gently, ending the call with a soft click. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar set his phone down, barely caring that it slid off the bed as he shifted to lean into Nora, she was already ready with a hug without even knowing the situation. Wordlessly she held him, rubbing his back as he fought back his tears. Ren placed a gentle hand on his knee, giving it a squeeze. Jaune laid a firm hand on his shoulder, copying Ren’s reassuring squeeze. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar didn’t say anything, letting a few rogue tears slip out as he balled his fists into his jeans, willing the ache in his chest to go away. He was finally feeling happy here at Beacon, and reality had come to slam him back down to the Earth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“How do you handle all this?” Oscar blurted out, fighting the urge to throw his cane down. He was left in a pitch dark room, he couldn’t see anything, but he felt another presence near him.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I-I’m more scared than I’ve ever been in my life. I always knew I wanted to be more than a farm hand, but who would ask for </span>
  </em>
  <span>this?!</span>
  <em>
    <span>” He let the cane fall from his hands, hanging his head in defeat as his vision blurred and angry tears fell from his eyes. He felt pathetic, letting someone see him cry over this. He knelt to the ground, reaching to retrieve his discarded cane. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red before feeling a gentle hand on his shoulder.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re right, none of us asked for this either. We just have to-”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar shoved her hand away and stood, turning to face her but not seeing anyone there, “How can you be so confident?! The world’s about to go to war all over again- HOW ARE YOU OKAY WITH </span>
  </em>
  <span>ANY </span>
  <em>
    <span>OF THIS?!” He shouted into the void, angry tears spilling from his eyes as he stared down the darkness. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>After what felt like hours of deafening silence, the girl spoke, “My friend, she thought that if there was even the slightest chance she could save someone, that it was worth it to try. She died  because she fought a battle she knew she couldn't win because of that. I am scared, but not just for me, these people don’t care whose side you’re on! And that scares me most of all.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar felt himself shaking, he was scared, but so was she. Who was he to lecture her about the risks, she knew them all and yet she still chose to fight, so he would too. Oscar nodded, crouching to retrieve his cane once again, clutching it tightly. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“This isn’t going to be easy, but... you’re braver than you think.” A warm breeze blew past him, setting him at ease. He could do this, he could fight this war just like her. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar didn’t remember falling asleep, waking up in the dark, a tangled mess of limbs on his bed. Nora still holding him close like a stuffed animal as she snored gently, Ren next to her. Jaune was on the other side, his arm also slung across both him and Nora, his hand clutching Ren’s hand loosely. Oscar smiled, he felt safe, his earlier stress and sadness being replaced by the warm feeling of friendship and the comfort it provided during the rough times. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He could get through this, as long has he had his friends by his side. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Give me platonic cuddles or nothing at all. Leave a comment?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Don't Ask Me How Many Times I Googled "How to Tie a Tie" For This</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dealing with the sudden change of plans for his break sucked, but with a few gentle nudges (and maybe a face plant as well) from his friends gets Oscar to open up about his problems.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There's a really important bit in this that is only important to me but like, what else is new? Also, did you know there's a tie knot called the "rose knot"?<br/>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Oscar spent the next day avoiding everyone besides his roommates, who didn’t push him for details about what happened the previous night, just letting him do whatever he needed to feel better. Ruby, on the other hand, kept pestering him about why he wasn’t at any meal, or asking him to come hang out in the library. He sent a simple “not feeling well, sorry” before turning his phone off for the night. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next day, he skipped breakfast, snagging one of the apples his aunt had sent before heading to history class. He sank into his seat and began to review the homework, focusing all his attention on the paper in front of him that he didn’t even notice when Yang plopped down in the seat next to him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh so you’re alive,” she greeted, glancing over at him, “you look like Hell.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar tried to ignore how he had jumped when she had seemingly popped out of nowhere before responding, “yeah, I feel like it too.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yang looked him up and down, her lavender eyes unnerving the young boy as he ducked his head and turned back to his notes. She didn’t get the chance to say anything before Professor Oobleck sprinted in at that point, ending any other chatter in the class as well. Oscar silently thanked whatever luck he had left as he kept his head down for the rest of class, Yang throwing him a look every now and then. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After class, Oscar sprinted out into the hall, trying to avoid any of the questions Yang surely had about his mood, not looking where he was going. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar collided with a firm figure and was sent sprawling on the floor, landing with a heavy thud onto his bag. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Watch where you’re going, runt!” A harsh voice barked. Oscar looked up and was greeted by a slim upperclassman, her hand on her hip and her short black hair covering one of her angry eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I-I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I wa-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that was obvious.” She scoffed, taking a moment to look Oscar up and down before rolling her eyes, deliberately stepping on his foot as she turned to leave. Oscar watched her go, wincing at the throbbing pain in his foot from her unnecessary attack.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next two classes went fairly better after that, Jaune trying to cheer him up during the movie they were supposed to be taking notes on by passing notes with poorly drawn renditions of the characters. Oscar added a small detail to each doodle before passing them back, smiling slightly when Jaune let out a stifled snort. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two left the French class completely lost with the movie but their spirits a little brighter as they made their way to the dining hall, running into Blake and Ren on the way. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar! Ruby said you were sick, I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.” Blake greeted, following the boy to the salad line once they were inside the dining hall.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t realize you were sick, Oscar, did you need to go to the nurse?” Ren asked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But Ruby said he told her he was sick yesterday,” Blake said, giving Ren a confused look. Ren blinked a few times before turning to Oscar with a questioning look.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t feeling well, but I wasn’t sick, just a headache is all,” Oscar waved them off, the lie coming easy to his lips as he did have a headache from crying on Saturday night. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well I’m glad that it wasn’t a sickness as well,” Ren nodded, seeming to be satisfied with the explanation as he moved down the line. Blake turned to Oscar and gave him a confused look. Oscar shrugged and kept moving along. The rest of lunch went the same, no one really bringing up Oscar’s “headache” after that, but shooting him a concerned look every now and again. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blake and Oscar ended up being the last two at the table, both picking at the remains of their salads before the warning bell rang and forced them to make their way to English. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two went all the way through class without talking, until Blake finally caved and turned to him during the five minute partner discussion at the end of class and finally asked him: “What’s going on with you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar was taken aback by the question, it was more forward than Blake had ever been with him, “what, uh, what do you mean?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You weren’t sick yesterday, but you told Ruby you were, she was so worried about you last night! And not one of your roommates knew you weren’t feeling well? You skipped every meal yesterday! Are you okay, Oscar?” Blake’s tone was worried, her entire posture conveyed every once of worry she had in her body being directed at the younger boy. He didn’t know what to say, he had never had a friend so clearly worried about him, and he didn’t want to bother her with his problems, because there was nothing she could do about it anyway. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I just got some bad news, but I don’t really want to talk about it.” Oscar eventually said, hanging his head in shame. He didn’t want to burden anyone with his problems, especially Blake who he really only talked to during English class about assignments. He just met her a few months ago, she didn’t have to deal with his problems. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar-” Blake was interrupted by the bell ringing, students standing from the tables around them and heading out the door. Oscar stood with them, only stopping when Blake grabbed his arm, “talk to us, please.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar shook his head, giving her a sad smile as he turned to leave, “I’m okay, really.” And he headed toward the biology lab. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was dreading his last two classes, knowing Ruby wouldn’t let him get away with avoiding his problems like he had managed with Yang and Blake. Maybe he could just skip? But that wouldn’t be fair to Ruby, he sighed as he took his seat at their lab station, hoping the small bag of cookies he brought her would distract her from his mopey mood. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar! I’m so glad to see you!” Ruby practically tackled him as she ran over to their lab table, throwing her arms around Oscar. Oscar let out a small laugh, returning the hug as she squeezed tighter. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I brought you something,” Oscar said, handing her the bag as she took her seat next to him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Those better be your aunt’s cookies.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You wanted cookies? I thought you’d want a bag of bees!” Oscar tried to joke, if he could ignore the issue then Ruby wouldn’t ask... he hoped. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby swatted at him before taking out one of the cookies and splitting it in half. She held out one half to Oscar, keeping her hand extended until the boy eventually took the treat before stuffing the other half in her mouth with a happy sigh. And that was enough to distract Oscar from his sadness, seeing the girl happy was contagious as they spent the next hour working on their midterm project.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby wouldn’t let them ignore the issue forever, and she made that clear as they sparred in self defense. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, Blake said you weren’t actually sick?” She threw a punch which Oscar barely caught, throwing him off balance. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“When did you hear that? You haven’t seen Blake in over an hour!” Oscar punctuated his final word with a swift kick to her hip, Ruby catching it and giving it a quick tug, Oscar teetering for balance as she tightened her grip on his shin.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She texted me you got bad news, Nora said your aunt called you on Saturday.” Ruby explained, tugging again to send Oscar to the floor, landing on his face with an “oof”.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t wanna talk about it.” He mumbled into the mat, glaring down at the ground as he tried to think of his next move. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar, you have to talk about it, it’s making you moody. “Ruby scolded, crouching down next to his face, forgetting about their spar for just a moment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar glanced up at her, trying to read her expression. It was the same as Blake’s had been: worried. Oscar could feel the quilt creeping back up in his chest as he realized he had made two people worry about him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ruby- Oscar started, but was interrupted by her shushing him, a fixed glare on her normally happy face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar, I’m your friend, I want to help you but I can’t unless you tell me what’s wrong. So, just, tell me what happened.” She gave him a smile then, extending her hand to help him sit up, “I doubt you wanna watch Jaune and Nora spar anyway.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar huffed a laugh at that, accepting her hand and letting her pull him into a sitting position. He could trust Ruby, she said that she wanted to help, so he might as well tell her, he couldn’t deny her what she wanted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, my aunt said that my pa was sick, my, uh grandpa, I mean, and that since she had to go to Haven to take care of him, I couldn’t... I couldn’t come home for Harvest break.” Oscar didn’t look to Ruby, staring at the ground trying to hold back his tears. He hadn’t said it out loud until then, making it real instead of just a nightmare. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby put an arm around his shoulder, pulling him into her side and laying her head on his, “that really stinks, Oscar. I’m so sorry your grandpa got sick and you can’t visit home. But, we’ll help you get through this.” Ruby squeezed his shoulders and just sat with him for the rest of class.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For the next week, his friends did everything they could to cheer him up, even going as far to help him set up a Skype account with his aunt so they could video chat instead of just talking over the phone. Oscar was glad he told Ruby, even though he still felt sad about not going home for the break, he did feel better with his friends doing everything they could to make him smile. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The week after however, was spent in full-on stress mode as he took test after test, project after project and had to help with setting up some school wide dance that Nora had volunteered both their room and Ruby’s to set up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar was helping with the last of the preparations Wednesday afternoon before he went to have a movie marathon by himself, having made a list of things to watch while everyone was gone for the next week and a half. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t wait to see everyone in their outfits! Especially you, cute boy Oscar!” Nora gushed, throwing the last of the balloons she had personally blown up at Ren, who was taping them to the archway. Oscar laughed, shaking his head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not coming tonight, dances aren’t my thing.” He stepped off the ladder he had been using to hang streamers and folded it up, his task finally complete.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“WHAT?! You have to come! You helped set up and everything!” Nora whined. Ruby walked over at that point, her hair in a messy ponytail and a small pout on her lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nora’s right, if I have to go, you do too.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>“Or, and hear me out, we </span><em><span>both</span></em> <em><span>don’t go</span></em><span>,” Oscar joked, laughing when Nora whined harder and grabbed Ren’s arm, shaking it violently.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yang might actually kill us if we don’t show up. It could be fun, we can hang out by the punch and be Punch Police! Jurors of the Juice!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How could I say ‘no’ to that?” Oscar laughed, giving up his fight and agreeing to go. All he needed now was a nice outfit that wasn’t his uniform and he would be set. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When the clock hit just past seven, Jaune, Nora, Ren and Oscar all made their way to the ballroom where the dance was being held, further confirming that this school was actually a castle to Oscar. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The brown haired boy felt silly in his white button up and dark green tie, not having anything more dressy than that. Nora had almost convinced him to wear his school blazer on top of the whole thing, but he was glad that Ren had wrestled her away from him, he didn’t think he could handle another layer on top of what he was already wearing. Besides, it wasn’t an actual ball, he could get by with a button up and a tie, even if Ren and Jaune both wore suit jackets.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Right inside the door was a podium where Yang and Blake stood, chatting idly while they counted the students coming in. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey guys!” Yang gave a huge grin to her friends as they stepped up to the podium, Nora immediately gushing about how pretty their dresses were, Ren nodding in silent agreement. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, before I forget, Ruby’s waiting for you by the punch bowl, Oscar. She said something about ‘bowl brigade’?” Yang shrugged, slinging an arm around Blake’s waist and pulling the girl close. Oscar thanked her quickly before heading towards the snack table, scanning the crowd for his friend. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby wasn’t too hard to spot, but he still stopped when he saw her, she looked amazing. Her bangs had been pinned out of her face with a sparkly barrette, silver just like her eyes. She had worn a little makeup, dusting her naturally flushed cheeks in a light reddish pink. Ruby was wearing a dark red dress with an illusioned deep sweetheart neckline, laced up the front with black sting that almost blended into the mesh going up to her neck, a black bow wrapped around her waist. Oscar suddenly felt underdressed compared to his friend, he didn’t want to embarrass her at the dance, especially since she had been so excited to see him dressed a little more formally.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar wasn’t given much of a chance to worry about being under dressed before Ruby spotted him, a wide grin spreading across her face as she began to wave at him. Oscar gave a small wave back, making his way over to the girl who was bouncing excitedly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar! You look great, how’d you tie your tie like that?” Ruby gave his tie a small tug, admiring the knot that had taken him a few tries to do.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, just practice and patience. Ren thought it’d be neat if I did a fancy knot.” Oscar said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You look really pretty, or uh, pretty great too.” Oscar smiled back at the girl, laughing when she looked away with a blush.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really, Yang did most of my makeup anyway, I just threw the dress on.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two stood there awkwardly for a moment, not really knowing what to say next. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yang said you called us the ‘bowl brigade’?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I was running out of clever names for ‘punch police’.” Ruby laughed, turning to her small clutch and rummaging through it before producing two pairs of sunglasses with a mischievous grin. Oscar laughed and slid the offered pair on his face, feigning seriousness as he looked over at Ruby with crossed arms. She copied him quickly, giving him a small nod.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two burst into a fit of giggles, leaning on each other for support to keep them from falling to the floor. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The night went well, in Oscar’s eyes at least. He spent the night hanging around the punch bowl, cracking jokes and occasionally hiding the fact that Ruby had discarded her heels almost instantly from Yang. He almost forgot that for the next week and a half he’d be on campus alone, without his friends.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ruby!” Yang called, shaking Oscar from his thoughts, he quickly stepped out of her way as she came barreling toward them, Blake in tow. “He said yes!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?! Yes!” Ruby jumped up in the air, grabbing onto her sister’s shoulders excitedly, “this is the best news ever!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you tell Oscar yet?” Blake asked, glancing back at the boy who was watching them curiously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me what?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ruby! You didn’t tell him?” Yang asked, looking between the two younger teens as Ruby blushed sheepishly. “Tell him!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay! Okay!” Ruby held her hands up in defense, turning to Oscar with a big smile, the older girls looking at him with similar grins. “Oscar, if you want, our dad said you can come home with us for the break!” Ruby said excitedly, fighting another urge to jump for joy. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It was all Ruby’s idea, she didn’t want to leave you here on campus.” Blake explained.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar was too stunned to react, she really had asked her dad if he could come home with them, just so he wouldn’t have to be alone? </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You sure you want me to spend the break with you?” Oscar finally asked, trying not to get his hopes up, not yet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course! You’re like, my best friend! It wouldn’t be right to make you spend the break alone.” Ruby said, shrugging her shoulders with a smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Besides, we’re bringing Blake with us too, so dad doesn’t mind one more!” Yang laughed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar could feel tears pricking his eyes, but they were happy, he was so thankful to have a best friend like Ruby Rose. “Alright, I guess I’ll go to your house for the break.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The three girls cheered, Ruby wrapping Oscar up in a bear hug before spinning him around quickly, making Oscar laugh in surprise and delight, he couldn’t wait to tell his aunt all about this. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>No one forget that I went to school for a whole year for costume design and only use that to describe dresses in fanfiction. Leave a comment if you want, or come chat with me on tumblr @indorkcold!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. I Had to Look up a Map and Realized I've Been Wrong About Fictional Geography</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It's time to go to Patch! Yay!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I never realized that Mistral was on a different continent before two days ago when I started writing this chapter. And I wanna give two shout outs this chapter to @alapest for that bopping Rosegarden playlist and the other to my boyfriend, because he said he was going to read this tonight so you know, hiiiiii.<br/>~Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The next morning at around 6:30 a.m., Oscar, Ruby, Yang and Blake all made their way to the train station, everyone but Ruby bleary eyed. Ruby was practically bouncing off the walls, excitedly telling Oscar and Blake all about the Patch Harvest Festival.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And then, at the end of the week there’s-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ruby, leave some of the festival a surprise for them!” Yang laughed, ushering the group towards a train car, planting a small kiss on Blake’s cheek when the girl passed. Oscar laughed as Ruby tugged him along, a blur of red as she hopped along the hallway, pulling him to a group of seats in the back. Luckily, this group of seats had a table as well so he would be able to work on some drawing he hadn’t quite finished while they traveled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ruby slid into the window seat as Blake slid into the seat opposite of her, they were followed by Oscar on Ruby’s side and finally Yang took the last seat next to Blake once she had stowed away all their luggage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What should we do first? Cards? We could play war! Or Go Fish!” Ruby was excitedly digging in her bag for a deck of cards, Oscar tried to be helpful by holding the bag open for her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, we got up real early, I think I’m gonna try to nap a bit,” Blake said, leaning her head on Yang’s shoulder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I think I’m gonna do the same, and you should too, or you’re not gonna make it to dinner.” Yang advised, sliding down a bit in her seat so she could lean back on Blake and get more comfortable. Ruby gave a whine at the older girls, giving up on her search for cards when she realized they were going to sleep the morning away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar set her bag on the table before fishing out his drawing pad, “we could play tic tac toe? I’m not really tired either, I used to get up this early on the farm.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ruby smiled, taking his offered pencil with a nod. Oscar smiled back and began flipping through his drawings, too fast for her to see most of the details but her eyes widened with amazement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ruby reached for the book, “may I take a look?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The freckled boy stopped his flipping, he didn’t really share his art with people. Not because he didn’t want to, but no one had really been that interested in his sketches before, well besides Aunt Em. Oscar hesitated briefly, silently hoping that Ruby wouldn’t think they were bad... or worse: silly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, s-sure, but they’re just things from my dreams really, they aren’t that cool or anything,” he finally said, letting her snatch the book from him and start flipping through it. Her already big eyes widening with each page. She took a few moments studying one sketch before moving to the one, sometimes tracing the page lightly with her fingers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oscar, these are so cool! Like, this is talented stuff!” Ruby was softly smiling at the last drawing he had done. It was a drawing of his roommates in warrior’s clothing, each separate sketches with their own poses and expressions. Nora was wearing a black pencil dress with a white and pink sleeveless peacoat with powder blue accents on it. She was grinning and swinging a large hammer into the ground, her gloved hands gripping it tightly as she seemed to be lifted off the ground from the force of the swing. Next to her was Ren, he seemed to be jumping, both legs tucked into his chest, showing off the black knee high boots he wore. His arms thrown out to the side, long black gloves coming almost to his shoulders to meet the ends of his faded green vest. The underside of one arm covered in pink, matching the pink hairband in his braid, swinging freely behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaune was at the bottom of the page, one hand resting in his cropped hair and the other on the hilt of his sword, which was stuck in the ground. He had a sheepish grin on his face and sleek white and gold chest and arm plates covering a black turtleneck, his dark jeans being held up by a red scarf and a brown belt. Jaune wasn’t in action in his pose, but he seemed confident despite the sheepish grin on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think you could teach me?” Ruby asked, looking up at Oscar with a blush, making his heart stutter and his brain backfire. He took a few moments to reboot and process her question before nodding eagerly, taking the book back and flipping to a new page. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two spent the rest of the morning and a good chunk of the afternoon drawing Yang and Blake over and over again until the two older girls woke up, causing Ruby to startle when she finally looked up from her latest sketch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“AH! Yang! Go back to sleep, I’m not done!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yang gave her a questioning laugh, “I thought you wanted us to be awake so we could play cards? Anyway, I’m hungry.” She stood from her seat and stretched. She then looked at Ruby with expected glare. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh right! Sorry Oscar, I’ve gotta help Yang carry the food back,” she said, setting his notebook down and slid out after Oscar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll be right back,” Yang waved at them as the two girls headed to the dining cart, a piece of paper in Yang’s hand with their meal tickets printed on it. Oscar and Blake gave a small wave back before turning back to their table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the train ride was calm, in a way. Ruby finally managed to talk Blake and Yang into a game of war while Oscar watched, trying to figure out the rules of the game until the train pulled into the station at the edge of Vale, right on the sea. The group then left their car to make it to the tunnel train to travel the rest of the way to Patch. Once they got on board, Oscar started to feel a little sleepy and decided to take a nap, the ride from Vale to Patch was only a bit over an hour, so he shouldn’t get too rested that he became cranky when he woke up. </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar shut the door with a sigh, the click he heard after him feeling final, like he was closing a chapter of his life and leaving it behind. He stared down at his hands only to realize that these weren’t his hands, and the sigh he heaved wasn’t his sigh. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Snow crunched beneath his feet as he spun around, trying to find something to see his reflection in, but was met with familiar faces instead.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey.” Juane said, but he looked younger, more tired. His shaggy hair moving slightly with the gentle winter breeze and Oscar couldn’t help his smile, at least it was a friendly face.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey Jaune,” a familiar voice came out of Oscar when he spoke. He knew that voice, but he didn’t know why. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re sure you want to come along?” Oscar asked in the familiar voice, he was doing something, but he couldn’t remember what. Jaune gave whoever he was a nod, behind him, Ren and Nora did the same. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Whether we find answers at the end of our journey is entirely uncertain,” Ren started, giving the person Oscar was a smile.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“But we wouldn’t be here if we weren’t up for it!” Nora finished, slinging her giant hammer over her shoulders with a cheerful certainty only Nora could give.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Then let’s get started, Haven’s a long way away.” Oscar said, trying to recognize the voice, but the dream was fading, and all he could hear as the vision faded was the sound of snow crunching under the group’s feet and the faint howl of wind in the forest in front of them. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-scar? Wake up! We’re here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy blinked the sleep from his eyes as he sat up, looking around to see Ruby shaking him awake with an excited glimmer in her eyes. Oscar stifled a yawn as he smiled sleepily back at her, giving her a thumbs up to show he was awake. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ruby squealed in excitement, grabbing Oscar by the hand and tugging him out of his seat, both her bags and his slung over her shoulders. Apparently, she had been too impatient to wait for him to grab his own and grabbed them for him while she was trying to wake him up. Oscar let the girl lead him out of the train and onto the platform, fighting the blush that tried to creep up when he realized she was holding his hand and not his arm like she usually did. It wasn’t like he liked her like that or anything, but he had to admit it was nice to have her calloused fingers intertwined with his, but he was sure that’s a normal best friend thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yang and Blake followed them at a more reasonable pace, Yang also carrying both of their bags, maybe it was a family thing, Oscar thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group found their way out of the station and towards the parking lot where they found and animated Taiyang, waving his arms above his head to signal the group over to his parked minivan.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dad!” Ruby called, zipping over to the man, barely letting go of Oscar’s hand to throw herself at the man. He caught her easily, laughing with her as he gave her a big hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s my little Sharpshooter! How’s school been?” He set the teen down, ruffling the girl’s hair as she gave a giggling protest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey dad!” Yang called, Taiyang looking up just in time to catch the prosthetic arm that was thrown at him, just barely. Yang howled with laughter as she finally caught up to Ruby and Oscar, taking her arm back from Taiyang who had rolled his eyes at the stunt. The man moved to help Yang put the limb back in place, giving her a playful shove once he finished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey dad, thanks for the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hand,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Yang laughed again, shooting a finger gun at him as Blake hid her face in her hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taiyang gave a laugh at the terrible pun before grabbing the bags from the group, tossing them in the trunk of the car for the teens. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, is anyone gonna introduce me?” Taiyang asked, looking between his daughters expectantly. Ruby sprang up first, grabbing Blake and Oscar and pulling them closer to her dad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is Blake! She’s  the famous girlfriend you’ve heard so much about from Yang! And this is Oscar! He’s the kid I told you about, the super smart one?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Blake, Oscar, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Yang and Ruby’s father, Taiyang, though you can just call me Tai.” The man held out his hand, shaking Blake’s then Oscar’s hands with a tight grip. “Alright, let’s head out kids, I left your uncle in charge of finishing the dinner so hopefully the house will be in one piece when we get home.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yang pointed to the back row of seats and waited for Oscar and Ruby to crawl in before she and Blake took the middle row, Taiyang grumbling about not signing up to be their chauffeur as he started the car and drove them to their cozy home in the woods. Oscar watched the trees out the window, the scenery so different yet almost exactly the same as the one back home. The trees were still clinging to their leaves in the late fall breeze, lovely hues of red and orange the trees on the farm had never been. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few minutes, the minivan pulled up to a home in a small clearing, smoke coming out of the chimney. Taiyang pressed the automated door opener and the teens climbed out of the car and headed to the trunk to grab their bags. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t take too long putting those away, we’ve still gotta eat dinner!” Taiyang warned as the sisters led their guests into the house. “And NO BOYS UPSTAIRS!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sisters rolled their eyes, Ruby handing her bag off to Yang before grabbing Oscar’s arm and dragging him down a hall. Oscar couldn’t help but feel momentarily disappointed that she didn’t grab his hand this time. Then he couldn’t help the small blush that cropped up with that thought, best friends didn’t feel disappointed when they didn’t hold hands, did they? Well, Nora always held Ren’s hand and she insisted they were just friends, so maybe it was a friend thing he never knew about? He would go with that instead of what his other option was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry about my dad, he’s just, you know, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>dad</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Ruby said, Oscar laughed uncertainly, he didn’t really know what that meant but, whatever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, you’ll get the guest room mostly to yourself, Uncle Qrow is gonna be here tonight, but there’s a privacy screen and Uncle Qrow usually leaves really early in the morning anyway so you won’t even notice him tonight!” Ruby opened the last door on the left, showing him a room with two beds, one with a duffel bag already sitting on it, and another bed closer to the window, clean cream sheets neatly laid out on the bed and a small bedside table with a vase of fake daisies sitting on it. Oscar nodded at the quaint room, it wasn’t decorated other than the flower vase and it had a large window letting in natural light, which made the room look and feel warmer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks again for letting me stay here, Ruby.” Oscar started to set his things on the bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t mention it! Truth be told, I’m glad you were able to come!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“R-really?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah! Otherwise I’d be stuck hanging out with my dad all break!” Ruby laughed, bringing her hands behind her as she rocked back and forth a bit on her feet, waiting for Oscar to finish putting his things away., “and his puns are worse than Yang’s!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The duo shared a laugh before leaving the room, Ruby leading Oscar back to the main area, pointing out rooms as they passed. When she led him into the dining room, he almost immediately got tackled by the girl, a spatula flying over their heads a second later.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Qrow! Be careful!” Taiyang scolded, his arms still above his head in a blocking position. The other man in the room, a lanky figure with dark shaggy hair that Oscar figured was Qrow, rolled his eyes, wiping his hands on his jeans and turning away from the smoking pan he was standing in front of before speaking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Relax, Tai, I know how to bake.” Qrow went to a drawer and pulled out a large knife, which Taiyang quickly snatched away from him, fixing him with a stern glare.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You almost hit Ruby and Oscar with a spatula, you don’t need to use a knife on... whatever that is...” Taiyang gestured vaguely towards the pan on the counter, it’s contents too blackened and hard to actually tell what it was supposed to be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s the potatoes.” Qrow grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaving Taiyang to try and salvage the ruined potatoes. Qrow turned his attention to Ruby and Oscar, his eyes softening when he saw his niece, her giddy smile and bounce enough to loosen the tension in his shoulders and hold his arms out, Ruby crashing into the man not even a second later. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uncle Qrow! It’s so good to see you, did you miss me?” She smiled up at him, her arms holding him in what looked to be a bone crushing hug. Qrow huffed out a laugh, ruffling the girl’s hair and shaking his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not for a second, pipsqueak,” he teased. Ruby gave him a pout to which he laughed at again. “And who’s your little friend?” Qrow asked, gesturing at Oscar with his chin. Oscar gave a shy wave, standing up straighter and grinning nervously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh that’s Oscar! He’s a first year that lives with Jaune and them! He wasn’t able to go home for the break so we invited him here.” Ruby explained, still clinging to her uncle. He gave a nod and then nodded at Oscar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Welcome to the party, kid.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the evening was loud, but fun. Taiyang had made most of the dinner and it was hands down one of the best Harvest Festival dinners he’s had, maybe because he didn’t have to help make it this time. The conversation was held mostly by the Xiao-Long-Roses, the family sharing stories and telling their friends all about the plans for the week, Blake and Oscar content with just listening and row nodded along, chiming in every now and then with his own opinion on an activity. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the dinner had been mostly finished (Qrow’s “potatoes” left untouched), the group slowly started to disperse, turning in after a long day with a busy day planned for the next day. Oscar and Ruby lingered at the staircase, Ruby telling him a story about the last time her uncle had tried cooking, Oscar’s sides in stitches from laughing so hard. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know! It was awful! We had to replace half the counters!” Ruby wheezed, leaning on the railing for support as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Oscar did the same, wiping his tears with his sleeve as he tried to catch his breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t believe he’s that bad at cooking, I just can’t.” Oscar said one he could breathe. He rubbed at his eyes once, smiling over at Ruby. Ruby looked over at him, her smiling breaking into a large yawn, which Oscar snickered at, pushing her towards the stairs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go to bed, Ruby, we can talk about it tomorrow.” Ruby gave a weak whine, letting her body go limp as she leaned back into Oscar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t, my legs are broken. I’m stuck here forever.” Ruby draped an arm over her forehead dramatically, looking up at Oscar with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Oscar rolled his eyes at her, continuing to push her towards the stairs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You gotta get going, you know you’re gonna get up at five anyway to say goodbye to your uncle.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, fine! But we’re staying up tomorrow!” Ruby righted herself and stomped up two steps before turning back to face Oscar, a brilliant smile on her lips, “good night, Oscar, I’m really glad you’re here.” With that, she turned back and raced up the stairs, Oscar watching her with a small smile playing on his lips, Ruby Rose really was something else.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Leave a comment if you want! Also, just fyi I am going back to work either this Monday or the next depending on when my office deems it safe to do so, so my updates will go to once a week after this! Come find me on tumblr @indorkcold to talk about things!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. I Just Really Think Oscar and Aunt Em Watch The Bachelor Religiously and No One Can Tell Me Otherwise</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Oscar and friends spend a day at the Harvest Festival.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Me: I'm gonna post once a week. Also Me: gets massive writers' block as soon as I say that. BUT I am here, with an okay chapter but it's the best I've got for this chapter, I I pushed through the block! <br/>~Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Oscar was getting ready to leave for the festival, checking his pockets to make sure he had his phone and wallet one last time before leaving the guest room to meet with Ruby, Yang and Blake. Tai had left around the same time row had to help set up his students’ fundraiser booth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s get going!” Yang cheered, grabbing hold of Blake’s hand and dragging her out to the car she and Ruby “shared”, Ruby pushing Oscar out the door behind them. The four teens piled into the car and headed into town, the streets and sidewalks crowded with traffic as the entire town was heading to the harvest festival. Oscar watched out the window, feeling excited for his first actual festival. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh this is gonna be so much fun! Oscar, what are you most excited for? The games? The food? Oh! What about the rides!” Ruby was chattering next to him, bouncing in her seat as Yang searched for a parking spot. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, all of it, I guess? We didn’t really have a festival back home, everyone was a farmer so we usually took the Harvest day break to rest after bringing in all the crops.” Oscar explained, continuing to watch everyone make their way to the festival grounds. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh you’re gonna love it! Just do the rides first.” Blake cautioned, shooting a look at Ruby through the rearview mirror.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That was one time! And I’m not as bad as Jaune!” Ruby said, crossing her arms and setting her lips in a pout, making the other three laugh. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yang finally put the car in park and the group made their way to the festival. Oscar could feel his heartbeat quickening in excitement, but also terror. There were so many people at the festival and it was such a small space, he didn’t know how long he could handle being there. At least he wasn’t alone, he had Ruby, and Blake and Yang, they wouldn’t leave him alone at the festival.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yang led the group to the midway where the rides were waiting for them. Yang begged Blake to do the spinning cups with them, causing the black haired girl to get too dizzy to </span>
  <span>continue to the fun house, she and her girlfriend opting to sit on the side while Oscar and Ruby went into the un house alone. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby led the way into the first hall of the house: the hall of mirrors. Oscar laughed as she kept bumping into walls, the girl grumbling as she shuffled to the next turn, she was sure it was here.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you’ve done this one before?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t memorize the maze, Oscar!” Ruby laughed, tentatively reaching her hand out and cheering when she didn’t hit anything. Oscar rolled his eyes and snickered, deciding not to mention if she looked at the floor she’d be able to see the next turn. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The duo made it out of the hall of mirrors after longer than Oscar would like to admit, and continued the rest of the house with much less issue. They eventually made it to the spiral slide that led out of the house and back to where Yang and Blake were waiting. Oscar gave a dramatic bow, gesturing Ruby to go first. She laughed and gave a mock curtsy in return, throwing herself down the slide with a whoop. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar felt his heart growing warm at her silliness, but he didn’t know what that meant. He shrugged the feeling off and followed her down, cheering as he made his way down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh, Oscar that was so much fun! We should do it again!” Ruby grabbed his arm and shook it excitedly, jumping in place. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We should probably check in with Blake and Yang,” Oscar said, pointing to the two girls who waved at them from the bench. Ruby waved back and dragged Oscar over, her hand never leaving his arm. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar smiled at the familiar touch, he was feeling much better about the crowds when Ruby was there with him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! We were gonna go on the ferris wheel, did you wanna come?” Blake asked, smiling up at the duo from her spot on the bench, a half empty water bottle sitting in her lap. Oscar was glad to see she was feeling better after the spinning cups. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby was about to answer when her stomach answered for her, growling loudly and making the group laugh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess that’s a ‘no’. You should go visit dad’s booth, otherwise you’re gonna... </span>
  <em>
    <span>falafel</span>
  </em>
  <span>! Eh? Eh?” Yang laughed at her joke, Blake and Ruby rolling their eyes as Oscar stared at her in confusion, he didn’t get it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh common! That was good!” Yang laughed, giving Ruby a playful shove as her sister laughed, trying to dodge.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, we’ll go find dad, I’m hungry for something fried!” Ruby waved as she led Osar away, promising to text Yang in a bit to let them know the plan.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar took being led around by Ruby as a chance to look at all the food booths they passed as they went to the french fry booth Tai and his students were working. Oscar didn’t know whether to laugh or be concerned at all the wild food options he saw on the way, for one thing, he saw the term “deep fried” in front of everything: deep fried onions, deep fried pickles, even a deep fried ice cream and peanut butter cups!</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why is everything deep fried?” Oscar laughed, pointing at the signs.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Because it’s so good! You’ve gotta try something weird at the harvest festival!” Ruby said, pulling him in line of the french fry booth. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Like what? The donut slider? The bacon fluffernutter? I mean, what even </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>that?” Osar pointed at the food booth across from them, boasting to be the home of the famous bacon fluffernutter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh! That’s so good! It’s like a grilled cheese but if it were sweet!” Ruby explained, taking a big step forward with the line.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m afraid of what that means, Ruby.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, it’s a grilled cinnamon bun with bacon, peanut butter and marshmallows!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar just stared at her, slightly horrified at all the contents of the sandwich, which was nothing like a grilled cheese.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, then what’s the pickle dog? It’s it as weird as that?” Oscar asked, moving them forward with the line once again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not weird, it’s just a pickle and cream cheese with roast beef around it all...” Ruby trailed off, giggling at Oscar’s gaping mouth. He was astonished that something so weird was an actual option that people wanted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But, why are they all so... weird?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I dunno, I guess it’s because this is the last chance we have to have fun outside and make up weird food options before the snow and everything gets cold?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar nodded, that’s why his town rested, it was the last chance to rest before they had to get the farms ready for the winter. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The duo continued to talk about the food until they got to the front, being greeted by a sweet looking girl with glasses that took up most of her face. She looked only a year or two younger than Oscar and she gave them a big smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ruby! Mr. Xiao Long said you were coming today!” She smiled before turning to shout for her teacher. Oscar realized he never asked what Tai actually taught, did he teach middle schoolers? What subject?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! There’s my sharpshooter, you win me anything?” Tai teased, leaning out of the order window to hear his daughter better. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not yet! We got hungry after the fun house.” Ruby said, reaching for her wallet to pay for the fries. The good thing about the fundraiser booth was that they only had one option with two sizes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure, two smalls good?” Tai asked, taking over for the glasses girl. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but also lemonade?” Ruby asked, giving him a bright smile as she handed over some cash for the food. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not a problem, gotta give these troublemakers something to do!” Tai rose his voice slightly so his students could hear him teasing them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar and Ruby laughed, sliding over to the pick up window to wait for their snack.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They seem to really like your dad,” Oscar commented, gesturing at the scene inside the booth. Tai was helping a boy with shaggy brown hair put fries into a small cup, laughing at what the boy had said which made the boy smile proudly. The other girl in the booth with hot pink hair tied up in a ponytail rolled her eyes and said something that made the man pout, handing him two cups of lemonade.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, he’s like one of the favorite teachers at Signal.” Ruby smiled proudly, moving to grab their order from her dad who was pouting cause his students called him “old”.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s the middle school right?” Oscar asked, taking the offered drink and fries from his friend.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep! He’s the best math teacher around!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two made their way to the booths that were set up with carnival games, finding Yang trying the strength tester, Blake hiding her blush behind a large stuffed cat Yang no doubt won for her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Go Yang!” Ruby cheered, throwing her hands in the air with the cheer. Oscar joined in, cheering for the blonde with a little less vigor than his friend. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yang turned and gave them a thumbs up, lifting the hammer once more before slamming it down with all her might, making the bell at the top ding.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ding ding ding!” Yang hollered, dropping the hammer to strike a pose, showing off her muscles as Blake rolled her eyes. The host of the game came over with her prize, a giant stuffed bee, which Yang took proudly, holding it under one arm before turning to the rest of the group.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ruby! How was lunch?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It was good! Did you guys eat yet?” Ruby asked, following Yang towards the less strength based games. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We did, there’s a noodle place that’s pretty good. We’re gonna find some more games if you two wanted to join us?” Blake asked, smiling over at Oscar. Oscar gave a nod, he wanted to see how good Yang actually was, with all her boasting in the car. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The group browsed the games, trying to find one that would be fun for the four of them when Ruby gasped, grabbing onto Yang’s arm and dragging her to the balloon dart game. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar and Blake quickened their pace and caught up with the sisters as they were getting set up to play the game. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She must really like this game,” Oscar motioned to Ruby, who was wiggling around in her seat, only half listening to the game host as she explained the rules. Once the host was finished, Yang took aim, throwing the first dart and missing by a long shot. The dart bounced off the plastic window covering on the side of the booth, falling to the ground with a thunk. The next four shots weren’t much better, all but one falling to the floor. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby, on the other hand, never missed a shot, hitting the balloons on her side at a lightning fast pace, right in the center of each one. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And we have a winner! Want a lollipop or a whistle?” The host asked, handing the raven haired girl the giant lollipop prize with s bored expression, sending the group away from the booth. Oscar was impressed how quickly and effortlessly Ruby had been able to win the game.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I had no idea you were good at throwing darts, Ruby!” Oscar said, hopping next to her in excitement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh she’s so good at these games, why do you think dad calls her ‘sharpshooter’?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar nodded at the explanation, following the group to find more games they could play.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually the sun set and the group made their way to the parking lot, their arms loaded down with treats and prizes from their day at the festival. Oscar was beyond exhausted, he couldn’t wait to crawl into his bed and sleep for the rest of the break. Blake and Ruby seemed to have the same idea, only Yang was talking, pondering what they should do when they made it back to the Xiao Long-Rose house. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We should watch tv or something! It’s the perfect night to binge an entire show in one sitting.” She explained, pulling the car out of their parking spot and heading down the road back to the house. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Like what? I doubt Oscar would like anything we watch... no offense,” Blake pointed out, glancing at the boy in the rearview mirror. Oscar looked up with a light blush on his face, embarrassed about the answer to the question he knew one of them would ask next.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh common, Oscar isn’t picky!” Ruby defended her friend, stuffing another chocolate chip cookie in her mouth, “what do you like to watch, Oscar?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar ducked his head and rubbed his neck, “well I like a lot of things... but my favorite is uh, the Bachelor?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The car was silent for all of three seconds as the girls let his answer settle in. Yang was the first to respond with a roaring laugh, tears pricking her eyes as she tried to compose herself. Blake and Ruby on the other hand, were delighted to hear that he was also a fan of the trash dating game, begging him to stay up with them and watch the new season with them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And that’s how Oscar spent the rest of the night, all four of them piled in the living room, surrounded by pillows and blankets, junk food on the table and trash tv on the screen. And Oscar felt happy. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! Leave a comment or find me @sailor-gomez on tumblr! And speaking of tumblr, shout out to the Oscar Pine Protection Squad group chat since basically all of you cool cats had birthdays around this time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. You Don't Want to Know How Many Times I had "I Don't Know What We're Talking About" Repeated While Writing This</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Oscar's dreams are back, and this time, Ruby has noticed. Does that mean he should tell his totally-not-crush about them?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I forgot to mention that I actually am the worst at updates and I never worry cause only @alapest usually reads them... and she is number one on my text list, but I don't wanna worry you guys! But also, thanks for checking in on me???? That was so nice???? I'll be better about updates, I swear!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar was sprawled on the ground, clutching the silver hilt of a cane. He reached towards the battle in front of him, seeing the red hooded girl fighting with a woman. The girl was holding her giant scythe behind her, jumping high in the air before diving down in a spiral, hitting the woman with the blunt side of her weapon. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The woman howled in pain, shaking the ground beneath Oscar and making his ears ring. She rushed toward the girl, energy crackling at her fingertips as she went. Oscar made one last desperate attempt to stand, to help the girl fight before a blinding white light flashed brightly, becoming the only thing Oscar could see.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“No! R-”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar! You gotta wake up!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Osar jolted upright, gasping for breath, clutching at his chest. He could still see the woman with crackling energy in the back of his mind, she seemed so familiar. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar, are you okay? You were crying and shaking.” Ruby was at his side, her hand on his shoulder and her silver eyes wide as she seemed to scan him, checking for any possible injury. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yeah, I’m okay, sorry to worry you.”Oscar smiled over at his friend, taking in a few more deep breaths before continuing, “I must’ve been having a nightmare.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby moved to sit next to Oscar on the couch before continuing, “do you wanna talk about it?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar smiled and shook his head, “no, it must’ve been from whatever you and Yang turned on after the Bachelor.”Oscar turned to gesture at the older girl, but she and her girlfriend were nowhere to be found. “Where’d they go?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby looked where he was pointing and smiled, “oh, Blake fell asleep right after you and Yang decided to carry her to bed. She offered to carry you too, but I wanted a sleepover.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar felt a slight blush fill his cheeks, thankful that the tv had been turned off and she couldn’t see the coloring filling his face. He took another look around and saw that at some point he had moved from sitting to curling up in the blankets on the floor, his legs still tangled in the blankets from his restless nightmare. The snacks were piled on the coffee table and some anime was paused on the screen. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What were you watching?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh just Sailor Moon,” Ruby said, reaching for the remote to turn off the tv. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve heard that’s good, never got the chance to watch it, though.” Oscar laughed at the offended look Ruby gave him before she leapt to her feet, declaring that they pull an all nighter to watch the entirety of Sailor Moon. Oscar settled back down, letting Ruby use him as a pillow as she started the show from the beginning. He ignored the way his heart started to beat rapidly, or the heat that rushed to his cheeks. He was just tired, that’s why he was feeling weird. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The duo had fallen asleep at some point during their marathon and were woken up by Tai trying to quietly sneak out the door to help set up the festival again. Ruby fell back to sleep quickly, clutching a pillow close to her chest as she rolled over, her dog, Zwei, let out a huff before lumbering over to snuggle closer to Ruby. Oscar let out a quiet laugh, he didn’t feel tired anymore despite how little sleep he got and decided to make some coffee for when the rest of the house woke up. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar gently left the deflated blanket fort and made his way into the kitchen, getting out the coffee that Tai had shown him the previous day and starting a fresh pot big enough for four. He then took out his phone to send his aunt a quick text. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>Oscar:</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Good morning! How’s Pa doing today?</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Em:</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hi! pas doing better</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>He finally got out of bed today</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Oscar:</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>That’s great! </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Em:</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>hows rubys house?</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Oscar:</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>It’s good! We’re having a good time.</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Em:</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Maybe later you can call me and i can hear all about it!</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar smiled and sent her a quick thumbs up emoji, getting up as he heard the coffee maker sputter out the last drops of coffee into the pot. He poured himself a mug before sitting back down, playing on his phone while he waited for the others to wake up. He didn’t wait very long before Blake made her way into the kitchen, grabbing a mug and filling it with hot water and tea instead of coffee. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not a coffee fan?” Oscar teased, taking a sip from his steaming mug. Blake smiled and shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I like tea better, but thanks for making the coffee, Yang and Ruby will be happy.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two sat at the table, sipping their drinks and enjoying each other’s company without saying anything. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After about an hour, the two sisters made their way into the kitchen, Yang rubbing sleep from her eyes and Ruby with a chipper greeting. Blake and Oscar both nodded at them, letting the girls grab some coffee (and an extreme amount of cream and sugar in Ruby’s case) before sitting at the table with the early risers. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So what are we g-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shh, coffee first, then questions.” Ruby took a large swig from her mug before sighing happily. Yang rolled her eyes, bumping her shoulder into Blake’s before turning to Oscar.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you make this?” Yang’s lavender eyes had a mischievous twinkle in them, Oscar braced himself before nodding, letting the blonde continue,” well, thanks a latte!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The entire table groaned as Yang laughed at her own pun. Oscar rolled his eyes good naturedly, he didn’t mind her puns, but they weren’t always the best.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what are you doing today?” Oscar changed the subject, directing his question at Yang and Blake. Yang gave a shrug, looking at Blake over her coffee mug with a curious gaze. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we’re going into town for a bit, Yang was telling me about the book store and I wanted to check it out. What about you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I was gonna call my aunt in a bit, but other than that, weren’t we going to finish Sailor Moon?” Oscar turned to ask Ruby, who was bouncing in her seat, suddenly wide awake. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes! I’m so excited that you like it!” Ruby said, downing the rest of her coffee before standing from the table, “I’ll get the rest of the series from my room!” Ruby sped off to collect the rest of her dvds as Oscar gave a small nod, his cheeks feeling slightly hot. Probably from the coffee, he figured. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar finished the rest of his coffee and excused himself from the room to go call his aunt in the guest room. He took a seat on the bed and pulled up the video chatting app and after sending a quick text to his aunt, he hit call. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aunt Em’s sunny smile took up half the screen, the woman way too close to the camera, seeming to fiddle with it before backing up, looking at the image of Oscar on her own screen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar! There you are!” She said, turning to the room behind her and calling for his grandma. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi Auntie Em, hi Grandma, how’s Pa doing today?” Oscar said, watching as his grandma pulled over a chair, waving away her daughter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh he’s doing fine, just the cold and his memory. Tell me you, dear! What have you been doing these past months?” She asked, smiling sweetly at her grandson. Oscar smiled back and told her all about Beacon Academy and his friends. His aunt would chime in every now and then with playful jabs at Oscar, but other than those quick quips, the two older women let him tell them everything about the past few months. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh Oscar that sounds like so much fun! I have to go check on your pa now, but I will see you at Christmas, right?” His grandma asked, standing from her chair as she spoke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep! Tell Pa I said ‘hi’. I love you, Grandma,” Oscar waved as she left the frame to head upstairs to check on the man. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar was interrupted by the door to the guest room opening with Ruby standing in the doorway, her arms full of snacks and her excitement radiating off of her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar! Are you ready for- oh! I didn’t realize you were on the phone! Sorry!” Ruby tried to back out of the room, dropping all her snacks as she did, muttering a curse as she bent to pick them up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, knocking exists,” Oscar teased, turning to watch her pick up the snacks for a second before turning back to his aunt, “sorry, Em, Ruby just came in.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His aunt’s eyes lit up and she leaned forward, trying to peer around her nephew to see the girl, “well you can introduce me! I wanna meet the famous Ruby!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar fought the blush that threatened to come to his cheeks, he didn’t want Ruby to know he had told his aunt all about her. She was his best friend, of course he talked about her a lot, he rationalized. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ruby! My aunt wants to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby looked up with a smile, dumping her stash on the spare bed before hopping onto Oscar’s bed, scooting closer to see his phone screen. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, hi! I’m Ruby, it’s nice to meet you!” She greeted, giving a small wave to the screen. His aunt gave a laugh and waved back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi Ruby, I’m Em, and you are as cute as a button. Oscar, why didn’t you tell me?” She teased, causing Oscar to sputter before blushing from embarrassment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, bye Auntie Em, I’ll call you later!” He sputtered and quickly hung up the call as his aunt laughed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, she seemed nice! But I didn’t get to thank her for the cookies!” Ruby gasped, causing Oscar to chuckle, at least she didn’t mention the whole ‘cute’ comment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The duo let the spare bedroom to settle back down in their blanket fort and continue their marathon. </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar’s face hurt, he could feel the swelling in his cheek and the promise of a nasty bruise. He watched as everyone gathered up their things from the wreck around them, an older man sifting through the discarded supplies for anything they might need. Oscar looked at the ground, the air too heavy and his emotions all over the place, they had gotten into an argument, but he can’t remember what happened, exactly. He knew that they were angry with him, but not for something Oscar had done. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar was looking at the ground trying to suppress the tears in his eyes when he heard the snow crunching in front of him. He looked up and saw the girl in the red hood again, holding out a silver hilt to him. Oscar looked at the hilt of the cane, taking in the intricate design of the hilt before looking up at the girl.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m just going to be another one of his lives, aren’t I?” He asked fearfully, he couldn’t remember who ‘he’ was, or why his own life was insignificant, but he knew it was and he knew he was going to disappear. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Of course not, you’re your own person.” She said confidently, gently wrapping his fingers around the silver hilt. Oscar looked up at her, trying a small nod before the older man interjected.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t lie to him, we’re better than that.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar snatched the cane away and looked back at the ground, the man had a point. What did the girl even know? Oscar could be lost to whoever ‘he’ was and there was nothing anyone could do about it. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The group moved on, Oscar bringing up the rear by himself, isolated for something that wasn’t even his fault. He let a few tears fall before wiping them away, trying to think of a plan. Maybe he could try to fight losing himself? Would that even matter? He wanted to try, for the girl in the red hood, she believed in him, so he would fight for her.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Oscar woke up in the blanket fort, Ruby leaning over his face with a concerned look on her face. He sighed, he had another dream and must have done something to spook Ruby.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, did I wake you?” Oscar asked, sitting up slowly so Ruby could move to sit next to him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What? No, it’s only 9:30. You were crying again, are you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar looked down at his hands, he wasn’t sure why he had been crying, nothing in his dream made sense, but he could still feel the pain in his cheek and the ache in his chest from what the man had said. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oscar, you can talk to me, we’re best friends,” Ruby urged, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder for support. Oscar smiled over at her, not meeting her eyes, unsure of how to explain his dreams. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With a deep breath, Oscar started to explain, “so you remember my sketchbook? All the drawings based on dreams? I had another one...” He chanced a look at the girl, she nodded at him, encouraging him to continue.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar explained his dream, the train crash, the arguing and the pain. Ruby just sat and listened, rubbing his shoulder gently. Oscar spoke quickly, letting the words fall out of his mouth as he told her how much it hurt to feel like he was going to disappear, and Ruby shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope. You’re here to stay, as the sweet, sassy Oscar we all love.” She said in a matter-of-fact tone, giving him a playful shove to make him giggle. Oscar wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, bumping his shoulder against Ruby’s and making her wobble from the unexpected bump. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks.” He said, gazing over at her again, feeling a bit better now that someone else knew about his dreams. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ruby smiled brightly, “of course! What are best friends for?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oscar felt the blush once more filling his cheeks and he knew, he was falling for his best friend.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Leave a comment if you'd like or come find me @sailor-gomez on tumblr! See you in about a week!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Why Does the Frozen Broadway Album Slap so Hard? I Mean, Seriously, it's Just so GOOD and I STAND by This Opinion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Oscar finally learns what happens to Jaune, Nora and Ren's old roommate, then he gets a strange visit.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>"why isn't Pyrrha in this?" "what happened to Pyrrha in this au?" I have been asked this by two people multiple times, so now you'll know.<br/>~Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The break was over almost as quickly as it had begun, and soon Tai was driving the four students to the train station early Sunday morning to get back to school. He wished them well, hugging his daughters close and ruffling Blake and Oscar’s hair, saying they were welcome back any time they’d like. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After two long train rides, they finally made it back to the station. Oscar followed the girls off the train and was greeted with a familiar voice calling his name. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“CUTE BOY OSCAR!” Nora called from across the station, starting to sprint towards him, barely giving Oscar enough time to brace himself for her crashing into him and sweeping him up in a bone crushing hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh we missed our small farmer!” She spun around in a circle before setting him on the ground. Oscar smiled back up at her, the room spinning slightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi Nora, how was your break?” Blake asked, grabbing the red head’s attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was good! Jaune’s mom even sent us back with snacks for the room. But I wish we could’ve brought Oscar with us!” She grabbed Oscar again and held him in another tight embrace, making him laugh at her dramatics. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was fiiiine, their house was fun. I even watched Sailor Moon.” Oscar reassured her, wiggling out of her grasp and fixing his hair. It was true, he had a lot of fun with Ruby, Yang and Blake over the holiday. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group was interrupted by a scoffing girl, “can’t you stand somewhere else to do... whatever this is?” The group looked over to see someone Oscar had already gotten off on the wrong foot with. It was the girl with short black hair and crimson red designer heels, impatiently tapping her foot as she glared at them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re not in the way, Cinder,” Yang responded, placing a hand on her hip and fixing her with a glare of her own. Osar looked between the girls, feeling like a fight might break out at any second between the two girls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I said: move.” Cinder hissed, her foot tapping coming to a stop, her arms dropping to her hips to mirror Yang’s posture. Yang took three large steps towards her, getting right up in her face before she spoke. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Make me.” She growled, her fists clenching at her sides, the fiery blonde only a few seconds from throwing a punch. Cinder lifted her head a bit, tilting it ever so slightly to look down on Yang, her scowl growing deeper. No one from their group moved, time seemed to stand still as they waited to see what would happen next, finally, Ruby gave a nervous laugh and broke the spell. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Common, we have to get our bags!” She grabbed Oscar by the wrist and tugged him and Nora, who was still holding onto him, away from Cinder. Oscar tripped over his feet as he tried to keep up with Ruby’s fast pace as she hurried away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ruby, what’s wro-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s nothing, Oscar! It’s not worth dealing with Cinder, is all.” She smiled at him, still pulling him and Nora away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the way back to the dorms was uneventful, the group sharing what they did over the break and complaining about the upcoming workload for finals. Oscar couldn’t help but get the brief encounter with Cinder out of his head, Yang was tough, sure, but she didn’t actually hate anyone. At least, not for a good reason, Oscar thought, staring up at the bottom of Jaune’s bed as he replayed the scene in his mind for the thousandth time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oscar, are you okay? You’ve been staring at the ceiling since we got back from dinner.” Jaune broke his concentration, jostling the boy’s knee with his hand, a concerned look on his face. Oscar blinked a few times before smiling back over at Jaune, nodding. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, I’m just dandy.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dandy?” Nora asked, looked over at him from the floor, pausing the game she had been playing. “You never use ‘dandy’ unless something’s on your mind.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar looked over at her, how did she know that? Only his aunt knew that, and she never called him out on it, just made him cookies and hinted at it. He smiled a bit, distracted by how much Nora cared if she knew his habits. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Y-yeah, I’m great.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nora dramatically dropped her controller before making her way over to sit on his bed, “you’re hiding something...” She singsonged, poking at his sides and making him giggle from the tickling. He swatted her hands away before sitting up with a sigh, there was no way around Nora’s persistent attitude. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is everyone’s problem with Cinder? I mean, she’s mean but I’ve never seen Ruby or Yang act that way.” He looked at his hands folded in his lap, not looking up at the rest of the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His friends were quiet for a while, no one knowing how to answer the question until eventually Jaune spoke up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We had a roommate before you, Oscar. Pyrrha Nikos, she was amazing and kind and the best person you’ll ever meet. Cinder made her life a living hell. Eventually she couldn’t take it anymore, and she left. She moved back home to Haven and she stopped talking to all of us, because it brought up all the awful memories of what Cinder did to her.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaune stood up, patting Oscar on the head before silently leaving the room. Nora let out a small sigh, looking to Ren who moved to sit next to Nora on the bed, laying an arm across her shoulders and pulling her into a hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Cinder did terrible things to Pyrrha for no reason, and we miss her, but hopefully after some time to heal, she’ll talk to us again.” Ren said calmly, giving Oscar a small smile and a pat on the knee. Oscar nodded, he knew they had another roommate that had transferred, but he hadn’t known why. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, you don’t like Cinder because of what she did to Pyrrha?” Oscar asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>like</span>
  </em>
  <span> her because she’s the worst, and she’s trying to do what she did to Pyrrha to Ruby.” Nora said, her tone even but harsh. She stood, not looking at either of the boys on the bed as she spoke, “I’m going to go check on Jaune.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She left the room feeling chilly, Oscar looking over at Ren to see what he had done wrong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jaune has trouble talking about Pyrrha, and Nora has trouble watching her friends suffer. Let them cool down, they aren’t mad at you for asking.” Ren reassured Oscar, getting off the bed and turning off Nora’s game. Oscar stared at his hands, how had he not known Ruby was getting bullied? She always seemed so happy and carefree. Why hadn’t she told him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oscar laid in his bed for the rest of the night, trying to think of any time Ruby might have mentioned Cinder to him. He couldn’t think of any time it had happened. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oscar, please, please wake up!” Oscar fought to open his eyes, looking up at the person in front of him, her face blurry and out of focus. She was shaking his shoulder, pleading with him. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Please, I can’t lose you, we won. Oscar, we did it.” She choked out a sob, giving him one last shake. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“W-we did?” Oscar coughed, forcing his mouth to smile, it was hard, he was too tired. The girl let out a shaky laugh, wrapping him up in a hug. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes, we did. Jaune is on his way to help, we can’t celebrate without you.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oscar nodded weakly, closing his eyes again, he was just going to rest until Jaune got there, Jaune was the best at helping. </span>
  </em>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>Oscar woke up in a white space, stretching on for miles with no end in sight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello Oscar.” Oscar whipped around to see a slender man standing there, emerald green suit and stunning white hair despite his young features. He gave Oscar a warm smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who are you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know me as ‘Oz’, and we have a lot to talk about.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Leave a comment! Find me on tumblr @sailor-gomez! See you next time!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading, comment if you'd like more! Find me on tumblr @indorkcold and chat about RWBY... or Sailor Moon, I guess?</p></blockquote></div></div>
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